We are this –>  <– close to the end of 2009 or, as we like to think of it, the Year of the Jane Lynch.  A bajillion Top Ten/Twenty/Insert Random Number Here is gracing the media sphere, and more than one lists Jane as the Best Of something.  A roundup:

The Houston Chronicle’s entertainment section names the cast of Glee as one of its “18 Standout Actors of 2009.”  We’re not entirely sure of their rationale of clumping Jane Lynch into the rest of the Glee cast’s performance because, to us, there’s Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester, and then there’s everyone else.

The cast of Glee, Fox
Sure, this may seem like a cop-out [eds note: yes.  Yes, it does.] — giving Jane Lynch the solo nod would have been easier. But guess what? If Lynch doesn’t win the Emmy with authority this year, then voters don’t have a TV. Her Sue Sylvester is the funniest thing Fox has on its network, and Lynch is a lock for the award. But this entire cast is asked to run the gamut from drama to comedy and have it all wrapped in a musical. You can’t sing (or dance) the praises of this cast any more than to honor all of them for being asked to do it all.

The UK’s Canada’s (thanks, Lydia) Globe and Mail names Sue Sylvester as the third most endearing people on television in 2009.  In case you were curious, two folks from a show we don’t watch (House) nabbed the first and second spots.

3. Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) on Glee . Track-suit wearing, bossy crank who controls the Cheerios cheerleading team. (According to Fox, she was named cheerleading coach of the decade by Splits magazine.) The blunt counterpoint to any niceness and joy in Glee . But, by heavens, a speaker of truth: “Not everyone’s going to have the walnuts to take a pro-littering stance, but I will not rest until every inch of our fair state is covered in garbage. That’s why I pay taxes. It keeps garbage men working so they can afford tacos. To feed their families.”

TV Squad identifies Jane as one of its eight stars “a-shinin’”:

1. Jane Lynch. If the Emmy doesn’t already have Jane Lynch’s name engraved in a statuette for Glee, it will by the time the awards are handed out. Lynch has been the perfect villain, the villain you love to hate. But if she were just a one-note nasty, it wouldn’t work. Lynch has shown the other side of Sue Sylvester. Her “swing” date showed Sue in love, and her visit to her sister Jean was a soft earthquake emotion. Jane delivers week in and week out. Her star is glowing.

NPR lauds Jane Lynch as one of their ten “Favorite Pop-Culture Humans of 2009.” Not sure if NPR is drawing a distinction between humans and cylons, but can’t we all just get along now?  Speaking of Battlestar — man, now that was a fantastic show.

2. Jane Lynch. Are you kidding me with this? How great is Jane Lynch? Not only is she the best thing about Glee, the most buzzed-about new show of the year, but she also starred in the inaugural season of the excellent Party Down on Starz, and every time she opens her mouth, she’s utterly delightful. How many actors can answer five questions and give five consecutive knockout answers?

Michael Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly names Jane Lynch as his Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy.

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy: Jane Lynch/Glee. No contest here. As long as Lynch’s ball-busting dictator is raising hell at William McKinley, I’m more than happy to overlook Glee’s weaknesses. [eds note: On the contrary, we are more than happy to stare at Glee's weaknesses.  More GleeCaps to come next Spring!!]

Oof, that’s a lot.  More to come…